Jeremy Piven off the hook in fish tale

A professional arbiter has ruled that Jeremy Piven did not breach his contract with the producers of the Broadway revival of the play Speed-the-Plow last year. The actor pulled out of the play due to mercury poisoning after eating sushi on a daily basis while working on the show. At the time, he received no sympathy, and the play’s writer, David Mamet, callously commented, “My understanding is that [Piven] is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer.” Piven, who stars in the HBO hit series Entourage, says, “I’m pleased with the outcome of the arbitration and to be completely vindicated in this matter based on the facts and the medical evidence.” The arbitrator sided with Piven’s medical team because the producers’ doctors didn’t bother to examine Piven at any point before, during or after his three-day hospital stay. The ruling claimed there was “sufficient evidence to establish that Piven’s decision was a reasonable one; that it was reasonably based, and that the contrary evidence is insufficient.” Piven can currently be seen on the big screen in The Goods: Live Hard. Sell Hard.